University Libraries

The mission of the University Libraries at Cal State East Bay is to provide user-focused quality services and collections in support of undergraduate and graduate programs, faculty research, and the general information needs of the diverse community. The University Libraries provide access to recorded knowledge in all formats regardless of ownership. Consistent with the teaching mission of the university, the libraries assist students in becoming information competent, critical thinkers, and life-long learners. The University Libraries provide physical facilities to foster individual and collaborative teaching and learning and to encourage the exchange of ideas.

CSUEB's pioneering two-credit information literacy course required of all incoming first-year students began in 1998 as a one-credit program and was increased to two credits in 2002. The course is taught either as hybrid/blended or fully online. With the growing need for college graduates to understand how to navigate the complex, online information environment, information literacy has become increasing important to student success. Currently, information literacy is one of the five WASC Core Competencies and library faculty teach 60-70 sections of this course annually.

The formal course is further enhanced by course-related instruction in one- or two-session visits to disciplinary courses, through embedded team instruction among library faculty and faculty in the librarians' liaison areas, or through individual research appointments with students and faculty. The library teaches an average 80-90 course-related sessions annually. Additionally, reference service at CSUEB is focused on teaching students how to work with information rather than just providing answers without their engagement. These elements create a comprehensive educational offering for our university community.

In 2013, Librarian Korey's Brunetti's article "Threshold Concepts in Information Literacy" won the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) Instruction Section (IS) Ilene F. Rockman Publication of the Year Award. Written with two former CSUEB librarians, Amy Hofer and Lori Townsend, the article grew out of their work in CSUEB's innovative information literacy course. The ideas developed by Brunetti, Hofer, and Townsend have deeply influenced the ACRL Task Force dedicated to rewriting the national Information Literacy Competency standards.

The library has taken a leading role in advancing the CSU's Affordable Learning Solutions initiative to reduce student course materials expenses. Librarian Aline Soules has collaborated with several other CSUEB faculty members to produce open source alternative textbooks for students, and the library has worked with the campus bookstore to develop a program to purchase expensive assigned texts to put on Course Reserves.

The University's Student Center for Academic Achievement (SCAA), which offers peer tutoring in English, Math, and Statistics, is now located in the heart of the library and has been integrated into library services. The collaboration between SCAA and the library increases the library's value as a hub of collaborative learning and student engagement.

In 2013, SCAA hired a multilingual specialist to assist International students with adjusting to college expectations in the United States.

CSUEB has the most popular library in the CSU system in terms of visits per student. In 2013, there were 3.3 visits to the library each week per FTES. This compares to a national average of 1.8 visits per FTES and a CSU average of 1.5 visits per FTES and illustrates the high value that CSUEB students place on the information services and study areas provided by the library. Currently, the library is developing plans to add additional seating and reconfigure the stacks to allow for more group study.

The library's growing suite of electronic resources is heavily used by students and faculty. In 2013, over 2 million searches were conducted in the library's online databases, and nearly 800,000 articles were downloaded from the library's 114,887 e-Journals -- approximately 62 articles for each student on campus. The library recently implemented a unified discovery system to make it easier for students to locate relevant library resources and has a growing collection of ebooks and streaming media to support classroom instruction.

In 2011-2012, library faculty member, Diana Wakimoto, was Principal Investigator on a Local History Digital Resources Project (LHDRP) Grant for the digitization of 250 photographs from the University Archives. The photographs are now available on the Online Archive of California (OAC), along with digital finding aids to the archival collections. In addition, the University Archives has made 200 CSUEB Master's Theses, as well as yearbooks and catalogs, available online in ScholarWorks, our open access Institutional Repository.